The Pirates were locked in a pitcher’s duel on a Sunday afternoon vs the New York Mets. After splitting the first two games of this four game stand, the Pirates sent Luis Ortiz to the mound to face off against New York’s Sean Manaea.
Manaea, despite a rocky start that saw him issue multiple walks in the first inning, shut down the Pirates completely. He went 6.0 innings, walking 3 and striking out 6 while keeping Pittsburgh scoreless.
Ortiz, however, was just as locked in. The man who started the year as a reliever but is now back in the rotation pitched 6.0 innings of shutout ball himself, striking out 5 and walking no one.
Per Dan Zangrilli, the Pirates have had a starter go 6.0 or more innings in 46 of 89 games this season. They are a very poor 26-20 when that happens.
The score would remain at 0-0 until the top of the eighth inning, when Colin Holderman, who is off to a rather rough July, allowed 2 hits and 2 walks, with a double bringing in the game’s first run.
In some fairness to Holderman, the Pirates had a play to make at the plate. However, a dropped throw to the relay man Oneil Cruz nullified any chance the Pirates had.
There was assuredly enough time to attempt a throw, but we’ll never know if it would have been successful. I think blame there is split 50/50; Cruz has to be able to at least attempt the play, but it’s not like Holderman had a dominant rest of the inning. He has been fighting his way through too many innings recently, and it cost him again.
But in the bottom of the eighth, Nick Gonzales rallied to set himself up to be the hero of the game. Facing a bases loaded, two out situation, Gonzales singles to left field to drive in a pair, giving the Pirates a 2-1 lead.
This set up a dramatic top of the ninth, one that Pirates manager sent out Aroldis Chapman for. The $10.5 million dollar man, the highest paid Pirate, has been entrusted with closing responsibilities in recent weeks with David Bednar on the Injured List.
Three outs stood in the way between the Pirates and a win they so desperately need.
Chapman did not look control in this game, ever. He walked the leadoff man before surrendering a single to have runners on first and second. He came back to strike out the next two batters, but as his pitch count rose and runners were still on, there was still an uneasy feeling.
In hindsight, this is where the Pirates should have went to the bullpen. You can’t blame Shelton for waiting a little longer, because hindsight is always perfect, and the optics of taking him out after two straight Ks would have been confusing at best.
However, a wild pitch moves pinch runner (and former Pirate) Ben Gamel to third, and a wild Chapman issues another walk to load the bases.
This right here is when Shelton should have made the change. Bases loaded, two outs, and Chapman clearly not in control. He was losing it, rapidly. You have to give the ball to someone else there, this game was way too important.
Kyle Nicolas was warming up in the bullpen as Francisco Lindor singled into left field, giving the Mets the lead and killing the energy in the PNC Park crowd.
Finally, Shelton walked out of the dugout and pointed to the bullpen. But itb was too late, the damage had already been done. An incoming Nicolas got a ground ball to get out of the inning and keep it a one-run game.
We are having a completely different conversation right now if Nicolas comes in one batter earlier. Nicolas would have saved the game, and the Pirates would be right there with the Mets in the NL Wild Card race.
Instead, New York’s Edwin Diaz would make quick work of the Pirates in the bottom of the ninth; Oneil Cruz struck out, and Rowdy Tellez and Jack Suwinski grounded out.
For Aroldis Chapman, it was his third blown save of the season and fourth loss, dropping his record to 1-4. He threw 40 pitches, only 21 of them for strikes. He lacked control and command when Pittsburgh needed him to close out the game.
Chapman’s struggles, I feel, have been harped on more than other bullpen arms this year. I don’t think he has had as bad a year as some suggest, but for a Pirates team that rarely spends money and even more rarely do so correctly, having someone with a $10.5 million salary blow the game is an awful look.
It also could have been prevented. Shelton waited too long to pull the trigger on a bullpen replacement. Having faith in your guys with big name recognition is fine, but the second walk given by Chapman was very discouraging.
The Pirates have been trusting Nicolas with higher leverage situations as of late; why not have him come in fresh and see if you can get one final out?
Instead, this felt like a crushing loss. You could almost feel the air being let out of the season as the Pirates fall to 42-47, one step further into the shadows of the National League. This was a series that Pittsburgh so desperately needed. Now, the best they can hope for is a split.
This follows up another series that the Pirates desperately needed against the St. Louis Cardinals, one they dropped.
Both the Cardinals and Mets are teams the Pirates are directly chasing in the wild card race. They have now failed to gain ground on any of them, in fact conceding space to St. Louis and now potentially to New York as well.
There’s so much doom and gloom around this fan base now that both of these series can’t be won. To see that fate sealed in a loss like this one adds so much more pain.
A quick scroll of Pirates Twitter/X will tell you that this loss is not like the others. It’s deflating. It’s exhausting. It’s potentially the season. The Pirates are dangerously close to selling at the deadline once again, a position that dejected fans are already bracing themselves for.
Like a classic Pittsburgh road, the path back to surprising those fans and proving this team actually cares just got several more potholes added to it.
(Featured photo by Charles LeClaire/USA Today Sports)
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